The phone maker has tapped UnionPay, the Visa-like payment firm that dominates China, and said that its Mi Pay service launches with support for debit and credit cards from 20 domestic banks, including Bank of China. In addition, Mi Pay — which is powered by NFC — can be used for public transportation trips across six cities in China. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Apple plans to allow public transit payments in Japan this year.

It looks Xiaomi is betting that Mi Pay can help increase revenue, and potentially lock existing Xiaomi users into its ecosystem more tightly so that, when times comes to replace their current phone, they are more inclined to purchase another Xiaomi device.

Initially though, the service looks limited. It is only available in China, and will only work with one current device: the Xiaomi Mi 5.

Mi Pay can hold up to eight cards per user, and it operates much like Apple Pay for initial setup and usage.

“After cooperating with China UnionPay over the past three years, Xiaomi is now truly excited about our joint partnership to launch Mi Pay. We believe that Mi Pay will be a key driving force in promoting the development of China’s mobile payments industry, and deliver much more convenience to our users,” Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said in a canned comment.

All this has begun to weigh on investors’ minds. The company was valued at $45 billion at the time of its last fundraising, $1.1 billion at the end of 2014, but the suggestion is that Xiaomi hasn’t kicked on as had been hoped. Nonetheless, it remains one of the most influential and ambitious mobile companies in the world.

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OverviewXiaomi Inc. manufactures and distributes mobile phones and consumer electronics. The company also develops mobile applications.
Xiaomi targets the lower-middle market and has gained a loyal fan base by incorporating user feedback into the design of its latest sets and Android skins. It offers internet value-added products including TV boxes, backpacks, phone screen protectors, earphones, and more.
Its …